1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved wireless mouse unit, wireless mouse and receiver, and more particularly, to an improved wireless mouse unit, wireless mouse and receiver used in the wireless transmission of information that moves a display cursor over a display screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, the wireless mouse has the advantage of eliminating the inconvenience posed by connecting cables, although this advantage is offset by the need for the mouse itself to have a built-in power source, typically either a dry cell or a rechargeable secondary battery cell.
Moreover, in addition to the standard mouse arrangement, with a ball cage located inside a housing which has a belly door on a bottom surface thereof that allows the ball to contact the working surface (typically a mouse pad), mice equipped with optical sensors have recently been introduced. The advantage of the latter arrangement is that the optical sensor does not contact any working surface and thus does not have the disadvantage posed by the former, in which the ball acquires dirt and dust and must be subjected to periodic maintenance. On the other hand, such optical sensor-equipped mice do have the disadvantage of relatively heavy power consumption, which means that the dry cell batteries must be replaced frequently. For this reason a wireless mouse powered by a secondary battery cell becomes desirable. In this case, too, the heavy power consumption necessitates some easy means of recharging the secondary battery cell.
Wireless mice powered by a conventional secondary battery cell come equipped with a special battery charger as an accessory, the battery charger being used to charge the secondary battery cell. Accordingly, the conventional wireless mouse unit has a charger in addition to a wireless mouse and a receiver.
However, the problem with such a configuration is that it makes the whole arrangement bulky, hard to use and expensive.
Additionally, the conventional wireless mouse cannot be connected by a cable to the main unit, so when the battery is depleted the mouse cannot be used and neither can the computer.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved and useful wireless mouse unit, wireless mouse and receiver, in which the above-described disadvantage is eliminated.
The above-described object of the present invention is achieved by a wireless mouse unit comprising:
a wireless mouse generating signals for moving a cursor across a display screen;
a rechargeable secondary battery cell included in the wireless mouse; and
a receiver for receiving the signals transmitted from the wireless mouse, the receiver electrically connected to and powered by a computer via a cable,
the receiver including charging terminals for recharging the rechargeable secondary battery cell of the wireless mouse.
The above-described object of the present invention is also achieved by the wireless mouse unit substantially as described above, wherein the receiver includes a wireless mouse cradle shaped to accommodate the wireless mouse when the wireless mouse is set thereat when the wireless mouse is not in use, the charging terminals disposed so as to contact charging terminals provided on the wireless mouse when the wireless mouse is set at the wireless mouse cradle so as to allow charging of the rechargeable secondary battery cell.
According to these aspects of the invention, providing a charging terminal on the receiver eliminates the need for a special charger for the purpose of recharging the rechargeable battery of the wireless mouse. Additionally, after usage the wireless mouse can be set in the receiver portion of the wireless mouse unit and the secondary battery cell built into the wireless mouse can be charged in the meanwhile, so the wireless mouse can be readied for use with an adequate charge.
The above-described object of the present invention is also achieved by the wireless mouse substantially as described above, the wireless mouse unit further comprising a connector cable having at one end thereof a USB connector for connecting to a USB connector located on the computer and a second connector at another end thereof, wherein:
the receiver further comprises a connector for connecting to the second connector of the connector cable;
the wireless mouse further comprises:
a wireless mouse connector for connecting to the second connector of the connector cable; and
a USB microcontroller unit powered by power supplied from the computer via the wireless mouse connector; and
a battery charger for charging the rechargeable secondary battery cell of the wireless mouse using electric power supplied from the computer via the cable when the wireless mouse is not in use, the battery charger being powered by power supplied from the computer via the wireless mouse connector.
According to these aspects of the invention, the wireless mouse can also be used in a wired state because the wireless mouse can be connected to the computer and powered by the computer, which is convenient in case the operator forgets to charge the secondary battery cell. Additionally, the wireless mouse secondary battery cell can be charged while the wireless mouse is being used as a wired mouse.
The above-described object of the present invention is also achieved by the wireless mouse substantially as described above, with the addition of a solar battery cell provided on an upper surface of a body of the wireless mouse, the solar battery cell being electrically connected in parallel with the rechargeable secondary battery cell of the wireless mouse.
According to this aspect of the invention, inclusion of a solar battery cell in the wireless mouse connected in parallel to the secondary battery cell of the wireless mouse allows the electricity generated by the solar battery cell to be used either to power the wireless mouse or to charge the secondary battery cell, thus reducing consumptive wear on the rechargeable secondary battery cell and extending its working life.